Yarn feeding and severing mechanism for knitting-machines



R. W. SCOTT. YARN FEEDING AND SEVERING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30, I9I9.

Patented A r. 5, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

R. W. SCOTT.

' I YARN FEE DINGIAND SEVERING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED'SEPT. so, 1919.

1,373,676. Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

'2 SHEETSSI-IEET 2.

F L'g, 5 7/ o o 75 Z0 4% I 7 604 0 606 w 65 J03 J04, J05 84 II II ticularly such rated points;

UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

ROBERT W.

soo'r'r, or BABYLON, new yonx, ASSIGNOR '10 scorn: & WILLIAMS, moonronarnn, A CORPORATION or Massaonusn'rans.v

YARN FEEDING AND SEVERING mnonaimsm FOR KNITTING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

Original application filed December 31, 1914, Serial No. 879,887. Divided and this application filed Septem'ber 30, 1919. .Serial No. 327,393.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT W. SCOTT, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Babylon, in the county of Suffolk and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Yarn Feeding and Severing Mechanism for Knitting-Machines, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to improved yarnfeeding devices for knittingmachines, parmachines as utilize two or more yarns included in the fabric at sepafor instance, machines intended to make articles or fabrics by multiple-course knitting, or partly by multiple course and partly by single-course knitting.

In the machines of-the class indicated the knitting devices include in addition to means for working the knitting instruments at a principal or main point or wave, and means for feeding yarn at this point, means of one or another kind for working the instruments at one or more additional places or waves, and some way of supplying an additional yarn or yarns to be interknit at this additional placeor places. Tn my copending application Serial, No. 879,887, filed December 31, 1914, Patent No. 1,317,897, October 7, 1919, of which this application is a division, 1 have fully explained and claimed such a machine capable of knitting relatively complete articles of hosiery, such as stockings having integral welts, mock-rib tops, and seamless legs, heels and toes, by antomatic operations including the formation at desired parts only of the fabric of multiple-course fabric sections, including mockrib or accordion fabric, double-course plainknit fabric, or tucked double-course'fabric. In order to begin and end knitting at an auxiliary wave of motion made in the knitting instruments for any of these purposes, I have shown and described in my said application, and herein claim, new yarn-feeding mechanism of general utility and also adapted automatically to supply an auxiliary knitting wave with yarn, automatically to cease supplying the auxiliary wave during continued circular knitting, and automatic ally to sever and clamp the yarn so supplied.

The invention will now be-explained in v connection with a specific embodiment of the genus comprising the invention particularly adapted t cooperate with the main yarnfeeding and severing, the heel and toe knitting, the web-holder actuating, the auxiliary needle-cam devices, and other agencies of my 'StHCl. applicatiombut also capable of application to and use without change in other machines of the same and other types.

In the accompanying drawings,-

Figure 1 is a fragmentary right side elevation, partly in section, of. a machine contaming the invention;

is an internal elevation partly in section of the gap-closer ring and auxiliary yarn-feed;

Fig, 3 is a plan of the knitting head; and

Fig, 4 is an internal development of the cam ring illustrating the main and auxiliary stitch-cams.

Referring to the drawings, the machine may be of the general type illustrated by my prior Letters Patent No. 1,152,850, dated September 7, 1915, and No. 1,148,055, dated J u y 27, 1915. Such a machine comprises a rotary needle cylinder 260 and reciprocatory knitting needles therein, means to support and drive the needle cylinder, and automatic ancillary devices including a pattern drum or other surface 120 occasionally moved at times determined by a primary pattern mechanism in time with the passage past a given point of a particular segment of the cylinder 260, indications on this surface being employed to actuate instrumentalities of the machine. Cams placed on the drum 120 may be employed to operate in struments cooperating with the needle cylinder by transmitting their indications to thrust-bars 4:60, for instance, mounted and operating as explained in my said Letters Patent.

The needle cylinder 260 is equipped with the usual long and short butt series of independently movable latch needles which may be tensioned needles, knitting purposes, and cooperating with said needles a relatively fixed cam ring 271, Fig. 4, is provided with a cam ledge having parts 40 at an elevation fixing an idle position for the needles such as to retain the last knit loop upon their open latches, hereinafter referred to as the tuck position.

In a depression having slopes 5 in said ring 271 a top center cam 8 and a bottom center cam 9 are fixedly mounted. A leading stitch cam 7 and a following stitch for the usual stocking cam 6are provided for cotiperation with cams 8 and 9 and slopes 5, together constituting the main knitting cams. Cams 6 and 7 may be radially removable, as by mounting them upon a ring segment. The machine may further be provided for theusual stocking knitting purposes with a switch cam 415, a positioning cam 411 following said switch cam in the direction for rotary work, and with narrowing pickers 650 and a widening picker 680 for the usual stockin knitting purposes.

Tlpon a standard 401 at the rear of the machine a latch guard ring 550 is pivoted at 552 to rest when operative onthe standard 400 in front of the machine, in which ring is provided a yarn feed throat 559 from which yarns controlled by main yarn changing yarn-guides or fingers F are given to needles at said main knitting cams. Said machine may also include if desired a device for operating one of the guides F for feeding a splicing yarn, and a brushlatch opener 425. The construction and operation of the main yarn feeding devices may be the same as that shown and claimed in my Letters Patent No. 1,238,052, dated August 21, 1917, the yarn guides F being pivoted on the stud 554 and being directly operated by the upper ends of some of the thrust bars 460.

The needle cylinder 260 carries an attached web-holder bed 295, Fig. 1, which may be the same as that of my said patents.

A web-holder cam cap 300 is mounted for free rotation on an annular shoulder of said bed 295, said cap being held-stationary in each direction by one of the adjustment screws 303 in lugs 304 straddling the standard 400, as usual. The web-holder mechanism, presently mentioned, forms the subject of my copending application Serial No.

327,392, of even date herewith, Patent 1,345,408, July 6, 1920.

The cam ring 271 of the patented machine has therein a groove 364 to accommodate the butts of independently actuated jacks 380 carried in the needle'grooves of the'needle cylinder 260, or in some of said grooves, said jacks coiiperating with an ad vancing cam 366 to produce the vertical separation of two or more intercalated series of needles prior to their passage into main knitting cams 6, 7, 8 and 9, and prior to their passage of a supplemental cam 382, radially movable to determine whether or not the needles not provided with jacks will take an idle path 10 under the leading stitch cam 7 and under the bottom center cam 9. Needles affected by the jacks 380 and the jack cam 366 pass above cam 382 and into the knitting cams. The elevation given the needles having jacks at the'apex of the cam 366 is such as to cause them to clear their loops beneath their latches.

sage of the remaining needles having no jacks in the idle groove 10, during which passage said needles without jacks withhold their previous loops to tie down the welt.

Without disturbing the operative relation of the stitch cams, the jack-cam 366 and the cam 382, the invention provides devices for interknitting at any predetermined times during the continuous circular motion of cylinder 260 an independent yarn at alternate-courses on some of the needles. These devices comprise a movable supplemental needle-cam and a movable yarn-feed guide 51. A cam slide 2, Fig. 3, is provided with an operating lever 20 in contact with the cam 26 on thrust bar 26 controlled by pattern drum 120. Upon said cam slide a supplemental stitch cam 2, Fig. 4, and a supplemental depressing cam 2 are removably fastened in any convenient manner. To cooperate with said cams 2 and 2 cam ring 271 is formed with a depression 11 having a slope 12 leading to an elevation 40, and preceding the location of the cam 382 and the stitch .cam 7. When the auxiliary nee- .dle cams'and yarn-guide 51 are operatively positioned, needles provided with jacks 380 approaching the cams 2, 2, are advanced to clear their latches by the jacks, are supplied with yarn from guide 51, are retracted to knit at cam 2, advanced at slope 12, and thence pass into the main cams to knit at the following cam 6 from one of the yarns 3 supplied at yarn, throat 559.

'Needles' without jacks approaching the supplementary cams at the tuc'k point of elevation 40 are depressed by cam 2 at too early a time to take the yarn m, pass into the depression 117 without having been advanced to clear their latchesfand then go into the main knittin cams 6, 7, 8, without having previously ta en the new yarn or altered the disposltion of their old loop with respect to the needle latch. It will be observed that the jack cam 366, the jacks 380, cams 2, 2 and yarn guide 51, constitute means for knitting with the yarn as supplied at said supplemental stitch cam mechanism to recurrent'needles only, and means for withholding the loops already upon the intervening needles without jacks. This arshown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, and when the cam 2* is in place all of the needles will knit at supplemental cam 2, having been advanced either by the jacks 380 or the cam 2 to clear their latches and take yarn w. This arrangement makes doublecourse plain fabric.

For the making of articles having predetermined sections of plain single-course fabric and double-course fabric of any kind, it is necessary to feed the auxiliary yarn 'in proper space and time relation to the knit ting wave formed at the supplemental stitch cams and in the co'ciperating web-holders.

This yarn must be controlled to cause it to enter and leave the fabric at the desired and at no other times, and I prefer to arrange for severing said yarn and clamping it in a position safely out of contact with needles operatlng for other purposes during such times as the supplemental stitch cam is out of action. The machine is therefore provlded with means for feeding, for rendering idle, severing and clamping the auxiliary yarn, with means for establishing a withdrawing wave in the web-holders in the des1red relation to the needle wave formed at theneedle cam 2, and with means for renderlng operative and inoperative the cams 2, 2 associated in such a manner as to cause the1r timely operation during the passage of a predetermined segment of the needies, a predetermined segment of the webrecess may be holders and in relation to a predetermined operation of the yarn guides F and the remaining agencies of the machine.

A- lever 50 overhanging latch ring. 550 and plvoted on the same axis 554 as yarn guides F, has its extreme end bent to bring it tangential to said ring at a oint above the auxiliarly knitting cam. 8n one face of said lever an auxiliary yarn guide 51.is adjustably screwed, and a sprin 53tends to hold the lever depressed. en lever 50 is depressed the supplemental yarn guide 51 extends into an annular bearing recess formed in latch ring 550 for the reception of a gap-closer ring 565 .(see Fig. 2) which radially enlarged at this point in some cases, the ledge forming the bottom 1 bearing of the said ring 565 being cut-away at 5% to permit the yarn bore 52 for yarn .n to reach the desired height with respect to the needles advanced by their jacks 380 and" jack cam 366, prior to the I'GtI'ELCtlOIl of sa d needles to knit at cam 2. To permlt yarn guide 51 to reach the position illustrated in Fig. 2, the bracket 601 of the existing yarn cutter and clamp mechanism may be cut away at 60 and the ring 565 is cut away as *ig. 2, the out not extending to the outer periphery of said ring, but leaving a part of horizontal flange 62 to maintain the continuit of the ring 565 as far as points 566, Fig. 3, in winch the vertical element of said broken annulus 565 terminates near the yarn throat 559, as explained more at length in said Letters Patent No. 1,238,052.

In order to prevent breakage of the latches of needles advanced to an upper p0- sition-during reciprocal knitting, gap-closer ring 565 is at timesrotated on its bearing on latch ring 550, to bring the gap between the points 566 opposite an unbroken partof said ring 550, and to throw one of the points 566 across the gap formed for the operation of a yarn feed guide F. A similar cooperation with the needles is efl'ected at the location of the auxiliary yarn feed 51 by forming beveled points 567 similar to the points 566 in the vertical flange of said gapcloser ring 565, so that upon rotating the ring the upper part of the cut made at 54 is bridged.

. The auxiliary yarn guide lever 50 is lowered to its operative position and elevated ing provided with a shoulder 72 taking under a flat on said lever 50. Lever terminates ina boss 74 bored to receive a spring plunger 7 5.

Mounted on cap ring 300, as bypivotmg on an elongated abutment screw 303 in one of the lugs 304, a lever 85 extends above the part of the periphery of the cam cap 300 lying toward the observer in Fig. 1. Lever 85 terminates at 86 in a fiat upon which plunger rests, isnormally maintained in an elevated position by a spring plunger carried in nipple 87 and is held on its pivot 303 by collar 84,-and is employed as a carrier or mounting for a web-holder cam adapted to begin and end actuation of the Web-holders at the auxiliary Wave knitting with yarn w.

. It will now be understood without further description that the operation of thrust bar 26 secures entrance of the auxiliary yarn guidefentrance' ofithe auxiliary stitch cam, of the auxiliary supplemental cam, and entrance of the auxiliary web-holder cam.

The machine may be operated either after prior knitting'or with the aid of movement of cam 382 and the separation ofthe needles into 'inter calated series by the jacks 380 to knit a selvage from one of the yarns y, the operation including the removal of cam 382 to perm-it at least one course to be knit upon all of the needles; said cam 382 may then be operated to cause the needles without jacks to' withhold their loops at each passage of the stitch cams durin the knitting of a welt ofa predetermine extent, at the main knitting cams, whereupon the cam 382 is Withdrawn to permit all of the needles to knit a uniting course for the welt and following fabric. Simultaneously with the withdrawal of said cam or after the' maklng of one or more courses at all of the needles, and during continued operation of the ma chine, thrust bar 26, lever 70, cam slide 2, the auxiliary yarn guide and the auxiliary web-holder cam are put into operation automatically by motion of drum 120 to establish knitting on the needles having jacks with respect to the auxiliary yarn w, the needles Without jacks passing in front of the sinker wales between the otheryeedles, all of the needles knitting a course at the main cams from one of the main yarns 3 No change of the motion of the needle-cylinder is necessary to accommodate the additional operation.

The yarns w and y may be of the same kind as each other or as the body of the fabric or as employed for the welt W, but

a I prefer to operate the yarn guides F simultaneously with the entrance of auxiliary yarn w to exchange the yarn y used for the welt for another yarn 3 suitable to the accordion or mock-rib fabric produced, for instance a. heavier yarn, or one of a color different from yarn 00.

Upon the completion of the desired extent of the accordion or mock-ribfabric, as determined by the form of cam 517 and the movements given to the drum 120, and during continued operation of the machine, the auxiliary yarn w is withdrawn from its operative position; the auxiliary stitch cam 2 is withdrawn, and the auxiliary web-holder cam is withdrawn. This movement may occur in two stages corresponding to the form of cam 517 and motions of thrust bar 26, the

first during the passage of the long butt needles and the second after their passage; but the resulting movement of the auxiliary yarn guide 51 may not become effective to Withdraw the am w, owing to the motion of the yarn gulde being substantially in the plane of the needles, until the second stage of the movement. It is not detrimental that a few of the needles having jacks 380 should take the yarn an after the partial withdrawal to run off the end of the high butt series of needles of the cam 2. When this occurs the yarn m is taken in the hooks of the needles with jacks, the same' needles also receiving yarn y at the main knitting cams, where both yarns are drawn through the loops of a previous course.

The auxiliary yarn carrier having risen to the position shown in Fig. 1, its yarn. extends from the bore 52 to that point in the fabric at which it definitely passed above and within the needles, rotating counter-clockwise as viewed in Fig. 3. The auxiliary yarn w is therefore drawn into the position illustrated lyin close against the. under side of the hrac B13 601, whence it passes above the fabric guide plate 602 under the guide 604 and clamp 606, and into the cutter 608 for severing the main yarns y forming a part of the existing machine. Cutter 608 being separately worked from drum 120, by one of the bars 460 and lever 609, is arranged to cut the yarn a: when it has reached said position. Yarn a: is preferably fed under slight tension.

The idle position of yarn w is .such as to insure maintaining it out of contact with needles performing any of the operations for the remainder of the stocking.

It will be observed that the actuating lever does not positively move either lever 50' to introduce the yarn or lever 85 to enter the web-holder cam, movement of said actuated parts being due to spring 53 and spring plunger 74, whereby accidents of timing will not cause breakage of parts.

By a similar cooperation during circular knitting at full speed, yarn as may be supplied in relation to a wave in all the needles established and extinguished by any other automatically positioned auxiliary needlecam or cams, such as the cam 2", and in each case of withdrawal of the am m by motion of lever 50, this yarn will e taken into the severing device 608 for'severing when the lever 609 is actuated.

I claim: p

1. A knitting machine having therein a single series of knitting needles and means for knitting plain fabric thereon by continuous circular single-course knitting of a main yarn, means for establishing and extinguishing during said continuous operation an auxiliary knitting wave in said instruments, and means movable toward and away from the needles to introduce to' and withdraw from knitting relation with said auxiliary wave an auxiliary yarn acting at the times of such establishment and extinguishment respectively.

2. A knitting machine having, in combination a single series of needles, a main knitting cam, a yarn guide for a main yarn,

and means for rendering said yarn guide.

operative and inoperative at predetermined tunes, an auxlhary knitting cam, a yarn gulde for an auxiliary yarn, and means for automatically moving said auxiliary yarn guide into and out of operative position with respect .to needles at said auxiliary.

cam during continuous circular knitting from the mam yarn.

3. A knitting machine having in combi- V nation needles and a plurality of knitting cams therefor, a plurality of yarn guides pivoted on a common axis each having a yarn dellverlng end in proximity to a knlttlng wave at one of 'Sflld cams when m operative position, and means for independently operating said yarn guides to enter and remove yarns at each of said weaves.

4. A tubular plain fabric knitting machine having in combination needles and web-holders and means for forming a plurality of knitting establishing and extinguishing one of said waves during continuous circular knitting at another, yarn-feeding means coacting with each of said knitting waves, and means for entering and removing the knitting yarn 6. A knitting machine having means for feeding a plurality 'of yarns for multiplecourse knitting, in combination with means for independently withdrawing each of said yarns and a single yarn severing device for all of said yarns and means for automatically causing said yarns or any of them to be severed by said device upon withdrawal.

7. A knitting machine having needles, and means for moving said needles in a plurality of knitting waves, means for feeding the main knitting wave comprising a movable yarn guide and a yarn severing and clamping device, and means for feeding another knitting wave comprising an auxiliary yarn guide and means for rendering it active and waves therein, means for inactive, in combination with means for in the same manner as said main yarns.

9. A latch-ring structure for knitting machines comprising a plurality of gaps for feeding yarn at separated points, in combination with a gap-closer device having means thereon for closing each of said gaps.

10. A latch-ring structure for knitting machines having therein a plurality of gaps for feeding yarn at separated points, and rotary means thereon for simultaneously closing each of said gaps.

11. A latch-ring structure for knitting machines having therein a plurality of gaps for feeding yarn in a surface adapted to guard the needle-latches, in combination with a gapcloser device adapted to be moved on the latch-ring and having thereon means for bridging each of said gaps when in one position.

Signed by me at New York, N. Y., this 29th day of September, 1919.

ROBERT W. scoT-T. 

